This application seeks funding for the (Cornell) Study Coordinating Center (SCC) of a multi-site study of treatment of elders with bipolar disorders (BP). Research in this population has been hampered by the limited numbers of patients at single academic sites, the challenging nature and complexity of these patients, and the need for research skills both in geriatrics and in acute treatment studies of BP patients. The coordination of a multi-center study of BP elders, therefore, poses special challenges beyond those that are common to multicenter studies in other populations. To overcome these challenges, we have assembled a group of academic sites and investigators with a history of successful collaboration on multicenter studies, including geriatric intervention studies and studies of BP disorder, and developed a coordinating structure based on the Cornell ACISR experience in leading multicenter studies. The SCC Administrative Component is designed to provide monitoring of the conduct of the study, timely correction of problems, and a forum for scientific discourse regarding ideas and data originating from the study. The SCC Assessment Component will rely on Dr.m Young's (PI) experience in mania assessment, Cornell's experience in staff training derived from PROSPECT and other multicenter studies, Dr. Schulberg's leadership in coordinating multicenter studies, and the neuropsychology expertise of Dr. Gur and the U. of Pennsylvania Brain Biology Laboratory. The SCC Treatment Component will use procedures of research protocol implementation and monotoring similar to those of other multicenter studies led by Cornell ACISR, and will work together with the University of Pittsburgh Research Pharmacy. The Data Management component will rely on Dr. Bruce's and her staffs experience in use of computer assisted patient interviewing (CAPI). Dr. TenHave and the Biostatistics Core staff will provide state-of-the art approaches to the analysis of multicenter study data. The SCC organization uses the experience, clinical resources, and strong research infrastructure at the collaborating sites. It, therefore, is strongly positioned for the successful conduct of this first study of its kind.